plows that came in that finished off our complement of 45 new plows that we were getting in. they didn't come in until about march of last year. this year is the first time we get to use them. >> officials in maryland, d.c. and virginia all have the same advice for when it comes to snow. if you don't have to drive around, folks, stay inside. that way crews can take care of the roads and keep people safe at the same time. enjoy the mild conditions for your friday. major changes coming your way for the weekend. veronica johnson is here for the forecast. >> seems like we got rid of one storm and another one is moving in. starting right after midnight. temperature outside right now, 38 degrees reagan national. your windchill at 30. so we lost a lot of the high winds but still enough wind out there to bring down that windchill reading. you can see the winds currently. at about 5 to 10 miles per hour across our area. that's kind of where they're going to stay today.

as far as temperatures go right now, benning at 33 degrees. areas right in d.c. there at 37. high atsville at 32 degrees. aspen hill in montgomery county, coming in currently at 34 degrees. windchill ratings are low throughout the area. reading between 26 and 30 degrees. so bundle up if you will be going out. as far as where that storm system is that we're expecting, two areas of low pressure coming together. one producing light snow around areas of southern minnesota, the other producing rain around arkansas. the two will bring snow into the area starting about 2:00, 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. not bad today. 36 to 41 degrees, seasonable. we'll talk more about the storm, give you a detailed timeline when the snow will move in. right now, first 4 traffic. >> not bad out there for your early friday morning commute. things are looking great on the beltway. we're dealing with a problem in maryland right now.

water main break, 355 southbound at cedar avenue. luckily, not causing a serious backup. toward the beltway, 109 high at as town. also great at father hurley boulevard. aaron, erika. this is a crucial day in the effort to keep the country from going off the fiscal cliff. president obama meets with congressional leaders this afternoon. white house is denying reports to send a scaled back plan to congress. a deal at this point would probably extend bush era tax cuts for most americans and raise taxes on the country's top earners. it could also include an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, spending cuts would also be postponed. house speaker john boehner will be at the meeting today. the house will convene for a rare sunday evening session. house majority leader eric cantor says the house could be in session until january 2nd, the day before the new congress is sworn in.

boehner, meanwhile, maintains that it's up to the senate to act first. millions of americans may watch the ball drop new year's eve in times square, but a group of democrats is organizing its own ball drop on capitol hill. they'll launch their countdown today. their ball represents republicans dropping the ball on middle class families should lawmakers fail to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. new this morning, iran's state television is reporting the country's navy started training drills in the strait of hormuz. that area sees 20% of the oil pass through it. the state tv report says that the programs include more ships, submarines and jet fighters. they've warned other ships to stay away from the site until after the new year. melissa mollet joins us from the live desk with more. good morning, melissa. >> good morning. the search is on for 23 pakistani policemen who appear

to have been kidnapped by the taliban. they went missing thursday. two northwest posts were -- two policemen were also killed at that time. melissa mollet, news 4. thank you so much. the army general who helped force saddam hussein out of kuwait died. norman schwarzkopf died of complication frs pneumonia. stormin' norman execute theed the first gulf war. a friend of his said schwarzkopf was in love with america and was possessed by a sense of duty. >> i think america suffered a tremendous loss with the loss of a great patriot. >> schwarzkopf retired from the army in 1991 and led a quiet life in tampa. he was 78 years old. former president george h.w. bush released a statement remembering the former general.

he said "general schwarzkopf epitomized the duty, service country creed that defended our freedom. he was a good and decent man and a dear friend." the 41st president remains in the hospital but appears to still be fighting. a spokesperson for the bush family says the former president will probably be in the hospital for a while. but that he would advise people to "get this, put the harps back in the closet he's telling everybody." . the 88-year-old has been in a houston hospital since november 23rd. his condition worsened when he suffered complications from bronchitis. secretary of state hillary clinton will return to work soon. she had to slow down because of a stomach virus and a concussion she sustained after fainting. she had to cancel an overseas trip as well as testimony before congress about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. 4:35.

the man accused of walking into sandy hook school with a two by four will be in court. that incident happened last week in -- christopher johnson wrote high-powered rifle on that board. police say he made general statement about school safety. no one was hurt. johnson, now charged with disorderly conduct. later this morning, two of the three men accused of brutally beating a capitol hill man this summer will be in court. tommy branch and sonny cued i attacked and robbed maslin. he was in a coma for nearly two months. branch and his accomplice are due in court. the third suspect, michael moore, waived his right to a hearing. today is the first day of the gun show in chantilly. protesters plan to be out in full force. the code pink, the social advocacy group, is prepared to protest outside. the group interrupted the nra

news conference last week if you you remember this. they want stricter regulations when it comes to buying guns. >> the rules on gun shows are very loose. the feeling is, this is not a sane way to protect you and me and our kids. >> despite the protests, gun stores have seen a huge increase in sales because many fear stricter regulations in light of the newtown school shooting. >> we're just getting started on news4 today. it's happened again. police begin a second search for the person who pushed someone off a new york city subway platform. the 12 and 13-year-olds facing charges in a brazen crime in northern virginia. more winter weather rolling in for the weekend. the

all right. grab the skis, the snowboard, it's time to hit the slopes again. the winter storm and cold temperatures helping ski resorts to open this weekend. white tail resort in pennsylvania opens for the season this morning. for now, they'll have four slopes operating, two other nearby resort, round top and liberty, open tomorrow. wisp in western maryland is open with eight runs available. >> i'm ready. we're ready to see snow. >> are you a snow person, a ski person? >> i'm not a ski person. i'm from texas. why would i be a ski person?

how on earth would that be possible? no, i'm not. as a matter of fact, my mother came in from texas and will be with me for a couple of weeks. i'm hoping she'll see snow. v.j., possible? >> she won't have to go far. i know you live nearby. let's talk about that snowfall event coming up. it will be cold enough for snow across the area by early tomorrow morning. you can see where temperatures are there morning. at 34 degrees. gaithersburg, 38. watch what happens to the forecast. we rise to a high of 41 degrees. clouds on the increase. by 3:00 a.m., snow will start falling. so between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., it's snowfall for us. should be ending by the afternoon tomorrow with the best chance of accumulation, erika, areas around manassas, d.c., southeastern maryland, around st. mary's, mostly rain picking up about a half inch of rain, in

fact. here's ha to expect. the snow develops between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m., mixes and changes to rain south of d.c. should wraup up by afternoon. we'll look at the four-day forecast in a couple of minutes. right now, mike cremedas. >> two right lanes shut down, no serious backup there. southbound 355 at cedar avenue. traffic getting by the water main break. delay-free in that area and construction on the eastbound dulles toll road at route 7. traffic is getting by to the left. no serious delays on the dulles toll road as a result. >> thank you, mike. the time is 4:42. still to come, extreme weather. how a winter storm sent another hard hit for the jersey shore. a metro train was stopped at

30 families are looking for temporary shelter after a fire in prince george's county wednesday night. we're hearing the 91 calls for help as people watched the fire race through that building. >> i'm down the street. but i can see it from here. there's smoke everywhere. >> do you know what floor the fire is on in. >> it looks like it started on the first floor. it's on to the third floor now. >> yes. >> you see a window on fire, right? >> yeah. it's a big window. it's burning the roof. >> winnow on fire on the first floor. now it's going all the way up the roof. >> it's like on the roof now. investigators say a malfunctioning furnace caused the fire in green belt. no one was injured, but the fire caused around $250,000 worth of damage. 15 before the hour now. a scary and chaotic scene as several teenagers carjack a virginia couple. that couple was held at begun

point outside their home in manassas, this was wednesday night. the young suspects took the couple's minivan and drove it to manassas mall and to a nearby mcnald. a 13-year-old girl was behind the wheel. when they tried to get away, they left the van in drive sending it into a pillar. they're being charged as juveniles. the youngest is just 12 years old. rescuers had to pull a man out of a hole inside a building in northwest washington. he was working in a building in the 3200 block of hyatt place when he fell into a hole yesterday morning. it took about 20 minutes to get him out. he was taken to the hospital. his injuries were not life-threatening. this morning, police in new york city are searching for the woman who pushed a man in front of an oncoming train killing him. the woman was mumbling to herself and pacing on the platform before she shoved the man on to the tracks. so far it does not appear the

victim and suspect knew each other. police have not released a motive. this is the second time this month someone has been shoved on to the train tracks and killed in new york city. scientists plan to get a better look into the mind of the sandy hook shooter. researchers will study the dna of 20-year-old adam lanza. some say the findings could pinpoint mutations associated with aggressive and violent behavior. others fear it could draw false conclusions on the genetic causes of mental illness. lanza is accused of killing 27 people in newtown, connecticut earlier this month before turning his gun on himself. police have not revealed a motive. >> today, people in webster, new york, begin saying farewell. they're saying final goodbyes to the two firefighters killed in an ambush on christmas eve. wakes are scheduled for today and tomorrow for mike chiapperini and thomas -- two

others were wounded. funerals are set for sunday. we could be on the brink of a labor dispute that could cost the economy billions of dollars. thousands of dock workers nationwide are threatening to go on strike on sunday if they fail to reach a deal with shipping companies. contract talks broke down earlier this month. the 15 ports involved in the dispute move more than 100 million tons of goods each year. the economy could lose billions of dollars if they're shut down for even a few days. how about good news on a friday, right? for dog owners in montgomery county, you no longer need to pay a fee to use the dog parks soon. it will stop collecting a $40 a year permit fee next year. the fee was first imposed two years ago to make up for budget cuts. but it appears to have driven people away from the parks. the county says it will now look for new ways to come up with

that money. 4:48 right now. our area is getting ready for another round of nasty winter weather. some places are still cleaning up from earlier storms. this is tacoma park. this left 1700 pepco customers without power. the electricity has since been restored. in silver spring, the wind is to blame for this. a tree smashed into a home. luckily, no one was hurt. but the house is not in livable condition. fallen trees were a problem in northern virginia. this was the scene on georgetown pike. a tree blocked traffic for a short time while police helped clear the road. it was the same situation on burke station road in fairfax. this tree blocked the road yesterday morning as well. neighbors say this is a more common occurrence. >> every time the wind blows, one of these big old trees comes down and this particular spot seems to be a bad one. this is the second tree that's come down here in the last year.

>> one neighbor said the teresa parentally have good timing crashing just after rush hour ends to avoid a huge traffic backup. mother nature isn't letting up on the jersey shore homes ravaged on superstorm sandy. snow that blanketed much of the northeast turned to rain along the coast. that, combined with powerful wind and high tide, caused flooding throughout seaside park, new jersey. most bay front homes took on water by late yesterday morning. firefighters had to go door to door to make sure that homeowners were okay. the snow blowers are out in full force across the northeast this morning. residents are cleaning up after the winter -- get him! >> first major storm dumped up to 18 inches in the region. areas like buffalo, new york, and burlington, vermont, which are used to major winter storms, haven't seen this much snow since the 2012 winter season.

travel is also still treacherous in many areas as roads are still snow covered. flight delays, all of that going on right now. >> i tell you, let's turn to veronica johnson. not even a little bit. >> this guy is not a snow lover, not a dusting, not an inch, not flurries that are pretty. i don't like it at all. >> you'll be inside saturday? >> i'll be as much out of it as i possibly can. >> is it going to get that bad? >> it's really not going to be a major storm for us. but it will be in new england. it will be a nor'easter for new england. for them, of course, that means more coastal flooding with high winds and snowfall. right now, around here, your temperatures hit 38 degrees. we've got a partly sunny or partly cloudy sky. partly cloudy sky out there. breaks in the cloud cover. your wind at 12 miles per hour producing a windchill at 30 degrees right now. so bundle up. we're going to start by taking a look at the radar.

it is dry over us. it's dry back in to much of the ohio valley. we've got snow coming through minnesota and into wisconsin. even areas of northern illinois. that's part of our system that will be coming together. the other part of it down here producing rainfall around louisiana and arkansas. the two moving eastward producing, again, that storm for us on saturday. as far as your day part forecast for today, 9:00 a.m., cold conditions, 35 degrees your temperature. by noontime today, not bad. 41. seasonable conditions for us. then we're going to be cooling quickly, dropping to the 30s by 7:00 p.m. a high today of 41 to 44 degrees with increasing high clouds for today. here's the two areas of low pressure i spoke of all coming together. snow will be starting about 3:00 a.m. or so and moving across the area. everywhere in the white is the snow. 8:00 a.m., it covers much of the area, rain that's the green down south. that's going to be across areas of southeastern maryland.

by the time we get to 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon, that storm gone with the exception of western maryland where it will continue early part of the day on sunday. we're cold, dropping way below freezing. most locations around here. that means that roads are likely to be icy and slick. then we've got breezy conditions for sunday. 1 to 3 inches of snowfall in the blue. that's all the way to the north, d.c. snow to rain around d.c. and rain down to the south talking, again, about 1 to 3 inches coming up. a look at your four-day forecast for sunday. we are dry. new year's eve right now, quiet with another storm on tuesday. mike? >> thank you very much, veronica. looking goodenow on the beltway. traffic is getting by the water main break to the right and worry-free on the inner loop as you make the trip from montgomery county to prince george's county. here we are at connecticut avenue. no serious backups there. also looking great at a good luck road. nine minutes at 55 miles per

hour i-95 to route 50. aaron, erika? thank you mike. another metro work. single track between green belt and college park. sunday night, metro will be open an extra hour. fans can get home from the redskins game. red line train sunday night, single track between friendship heights and medical center. good morning everybody. the time right now is 4:54. coming up, the most annoying words of 2012. we've got a few of them for you. we promise not to use them too much. plus, this special finishing touch added to new year's celebrations at times square. also ahead, the lawsuit claiming you may not get all the bang for the buck with two of ford's newest

♪ rescue me ♪ come on, baby ♪ this morning, family, friends and music fans are mourning the loss of legendary r&b singer fon tell abbas. she's best known for this hit, rescue me. she fought for years to be recognized as one of the writers of this song. she had a heart attack and died wednesday night. her daughter says that she lit up a room whenever she walked in, whether she was performing or not. new year's eve is just a few days away. new york city is putting the final touches on the festivity with a special tribute.

the iconic new year's ball in times square has been installed with 288 new waterford crystal triangles, including in the crystal a special triangle engraved with the name dick clark. clark passed away this past april. for more than 40 years on new year's eve, clark counted down the new year with countless celebrities. his wife was on hand for the tribute. in singapore, people are getting ready for the new year by floating 20,000 spheres down the singapore river. each one represents a wish. organizers say the floating display aims to connect people through a collective expression of their dreams. that's beautiful. the spheres will be lit in different colors on new year's eve and be part of a fireworks display as well. delays on the metro happen. but here's a new reason why some riders were late for dinner. a woman went into labor on the red line. she didn't give birth on the

train. metro stopped the train to wait for an ambulance. medics got there in time and got her to gw hospital just in time to deliver her baby. >> whew. close call. stay with us. news4 today continues right now at 5:00 a.m. we've got fairly clear skies. but we are in for major weather changes in the next 24 hours. >> signs of hope for a new deal with just four days until we hit the fiscal cliff. good morning everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eric go-- erika gonzalez. it's the last friday of the year, mr. gilchrist. >> yes, it is. we could be talking rain and snow by tomorrow morning at this time. let's take a live look outside. looks to be nice. there's v.j. >> hi guys. happy friday. >> happy friday to you. skies look pretty good